Mapping the EU Fact-Checking Scene: Our Contribution to EDMO, the European Digital Media Observatory

Jan 28, 2021 | News, Projects

In a digitized public sphere full of mis- and disinformation, establishing a fact-checking or verification team has become mandatory for many news organizations and human rights defenders. From Stockholm to Rome and from Lisbon to Bucharest, investigative journalists and open source intelligence (OSINT) experts sit in front of their computers many hours a week to dissect false claims or manipulated photos and videos; content that is churned out on more or less unregulated social media platforms. Often underfunded and stressed out, these verification workers do important groundwork for a functioning democratic media landscape – a job that would benefit from more recognition, exposure, and networking. In the scope of Project EDMO (= European Digital Media Observatory), we have set out to make a small contribution towards that goal – by thoroughly mapping the fact-checking and verification scene in the EU (and possibly beyond).